diastolic blood pressure

The definitions used in this glossary of terminology either have been
provided by the authors of the articles, or have been extracted wholly or in
part, or paraphrased from the following sources: The American Medical
Association Encyclopedia of Medicine, Charles B. Clayman, MD, Medical
Editor, Random House, New York, 1989; Biotechnology from A to Z, 2d
Edition, William Bains, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002;
A Dictionary of Genetics, 6th Edition, Robert C. King and William D.
Stansfield, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; Dorland's
Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 29th and 30th Editions, W. B. Saunders
Company, Philadelphia, 2000, 2003; Genes VII, Benjamin Lewin, Oxford
University Press, New York, New York, 2000; The Gale Encyclopedia of
Genetic Disorders, Volumes I and II, Stacey L. Blachford, Ed., Thomson
Learning, New York, New York, 2002; The Merriam-Webster Dictionary,
Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts, 1997; Molecular
Biology of the Cell, 3rd Edition, Bruce Alberts, et al., Garland
Publishing, 1994; The Random House Dictionary of the English
Language, Unabridged Edition, 1966; Webster's Ninth New Collegiate
Dictionary, 1991.

blood pressure

DEFINITION:

1. The pressure of blood against the walls of any blood vessel.

2. The pressure of the blood on the walls of the arteries, dependent on the energy of the heart action, the elasticity of the walls of the arteries, and the volume and viscosity of the blood. The maximum or systolic blood pressure occurs near the end of the stroke output of the left ventricle of the heart. The minimum or diastolic blood pressure occurs late in ventricular diastole. Mean blood pressure is the average of the blood pressure levels, and basic blood pressure is that during quiet rest or basal conditions. See also hypertension and hypotension.